18 till I die

No matter how many times you tell yourself “age is just a number”, as you grow older, there are inevitably moments of self doubt, of regret, of wishful thinking.

I doubt there’s an older person on the planet who hasn’t had one such moment.

I certainly have.

Wishing I’d done x.

Not done x.

Said this.

Not said that.

All part of growing up and growing old, I s’pose.

But (other than still not writing that brilliant, award winning novel I KNOW is waiting to be written 😛 ) I am currently in the enviable position of doing “young people” stuff.

And thoroughly enjoying it.

I celebrated my 65th birthday by running one of the world’s highest half marathons, up in Ladakh, in the Indian Himalayas, and by being appointed a running influencer by ASICS, the Japanese sports brand.

Now how super fun is THAT?

Oh yes, before we go any further, let me share this clipping (below) with you, which I saw a few months ago, and kept especially for a blog post such as this.

This is STUPENDOUS news 🙂 🙂 🙂

I. Am. Officially. Young.

This is super exciting news, you realise.

It means that I am in the same official age category as my children! Of everyone in my running group!

I am no longer a freak, an old lady hanging with the cool kids.

I. Am. Officially. Young.

Joking aside, taking up running when I turned 60 has proved to be one of the most intelligent things I have ever done.

Truly.

Never felt healthier in my entire life.

I have had fewer illnesses, fewer colds, coughs, and sniffles over the course of the past 5 years then ever.

To offset this, of course, I’ve tripped and fallen during runs. But that is small fry compared to the fact that I am w-a-y healthier than ever before, and that significant markers for a woman my age (like bone density) have improved hugely since I started running.

My knees, that gave me so much trouble in my late 40s and then in my 50s, no longer trouble me. (Tries not to think about the cost of 2 double arthroscopies & the money we could’ve saved if I’d discovered running earlier 😛 )

But running is proving to be my window to better health, to fitness and – let’s be frank – to a whole new world.

A brave new world of fluorescent Ts and age-inappropriate clothing.

Of new music.

Of making friends with great youngsters, who welcome me with kindness, and never seem to mind my hanging out with them.

It’s led me to take better care of myself diet-wise and sleep-wise than before.

I’m even thinking about joining a gym.

Quite.

And, the icing on the cake, to be considered influencer material by ASICS is exciting.

And a great honour.

On Sunday, I went to the Bryan Adams concert in Gurgaon, the satellite city next to Delhi (where I live).

Obviously the “Summer of 69” was amazing.

Obviously “Here I am” was very special. It’s been the first song on my running playlist since Day One. I find it uplifting and encouraging and it calms me down in those first few minutes of getting out of the stadium, in a big crowd, and trying to get into my stride…

And then came the iconic “18 till I die”, which had a new line.

I guess Mr. Adams, now that he’s nearly 59, felt he had to update one crucial word:

“Someday I’ll be eighteen goin’ on fifty five, eighteen ’til I die”

On Sunday, 55 became 65, and I shouted out with glee on hearing it 🙂

Don’t believe me?

Here you go.

Proof:

So, off I go on an exciting new adventure, that of being a running influencer. If you don’t already follow me on Instagram, please do.

Please feel free to ask me questions about running and training and exercise, and I’ll try to answer as best I can, either here or on Insta.